German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Chancellor Olaf Scholz will call on Germany’s parliament on Monday (December 16, 2024) to declare it has no confidence in him, taking the first formal step towards securing early elections following his government’s collapse.

The departure last month of the neoliberal Free Democrats from the three-way coalition left Mr. Scholz’s Social Democrats and the Greens governing without a parliamentary majority just when Germany faces its deepest economic crisis in a generation.

Rules drawn up to prevent the series of short-lived and unstable governments that played an important role in helping the Nazis rise to power in the 1930s mean that the path to new elections is long and largely controlled by the chancellor.

“If legislators follow the path I am recommending, I will suggest to the President that he dissolve parliament,” Mr. Scholz told reporters on Wednesday (December 12, 2024) after requesting the motion.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said he will act accordingly after Monday’s (December 16, 2024) vote and agreed with parliamentary parties on Feb. 23 as the date for early elections.

Assuming the no-confidence vote passes, Mr. Scholz and his ministers will remain in office in an acting capacity until a new government is formed, which could take months if coalition negotiations prove lengthy.

Mr. Scholz has outlined a list of measures that could pass with opposition support during that period, including 11 billion euros ($11.55 billion) of tax cuts and an increase in child benefits already agreed on by former coalition partners.

Measures to better protect the Constitutional Court from the machinations of a future populist or anti-democratic government, to cut energy prices and to extend a popular subsidised transport ticket are also under discussion.

The outcome of the vote is not certain, with Mr. Scholz’s SPD likely to vote that they have confidence in their Chancellor, while opposition conservatives, far ahead in the polls, and the Free Democrats expected not to.

The far-right Alternative for Germany, with whom all other parties refuse to work, could surprise legislators by voting that they do have confidence in Mr. Scholz.

If both the SPD and the Greens also back Mr. Scholz, that would leave him in the awkward position of remaining in office with the support of a party that he rejects as anti-democratic. In that case, most observers expect he would resign, which itself would trigger elections.

To avoid that scenario, many legislators expect the Greens to abstain from the vote. ($1 = 0.9522 euros)

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Germany’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock exchange documents as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz look on during the signing of agreements between India and Germany at the Hyderabad House, in New Delhi, on Friday (Oct. 25, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

“Young educated Indians are striving to enter the labour market, while in Germany, there is a great need of skilled workers, and it can be turned into a ‘win-win-win’ situation for both the countries and youths,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Friday (October 25, 2024).

Ms. Baerbock made the remarks while meeting German learners at the Goethe-Institut/Max Mueller Bhavan in New Delhi earlier in the day.

She is currently in India as part of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-day official visit to India that began on Thursday (October 24, 2024).

The German Foreign Minister attended the 7th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) on Friday (October 25, 2024).

Federal Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Hubertus Heil also visited the global cultural institute of Germany, the institute said in a statement.

The Ministers held an exchange with the group to hear about their motivations and future plans, and responded to concerns of mutual interest.

In their statements, they emphasised Germany’s commitment to “welcoming talented Indians” into the German workforce across sectors.

“India is an economic heavyweight with breathtaking dynamism — with many young, well-educated people striving to enter the labour market,” Ms. Baerbock was quoted as saying in the statement.

“In Germany, on the other hand, we are in great need of skilled workers. We can turn this into a win-win-win situation, for India, for Germany, but above all for the young people striving to work in Germany. We took the first steps towards this two years ago with the partnership and mobility agreement. And now we have also simplified visa procedures,” she said in her address.

Also read:PM Modi meets German Chancellor Scholz

A joint statement was issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Scholz co-chaired the seventh round of the IGC meeting.

“As bilateral cooperation on skilled migration expands across multiple fronts, involving collaboration between federal and state governments, as well as private sector stakeholders, both sides committed to full implementation of the provisions of the Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement (MMPA),” it said.

In line with the commitments outlined in the MMPA both sides remain dedicated to promoting fair and legal labour migration, the statement said.

“This approach is guided by international standards that ensure migrant workers are treated with dignity and respect, including fair recruitment practices, transparent visa processes, and the protection of workers’ rights,” it said.

“The approach can safeguard against exploitation and ensure compliance with international labour standards,” it added.

With the MMPA, both sides also agreed to address irregular migration.

Minister Heil also interacted with Indian students at a partner school of the Goethe-Institut, who are striving to go for vocational training in Germany.

New Delhi:

The Russia-Ukraine conflict was discussed in “considerable detail” during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday, with New Delhi reiterating that it is “not neutral” in this conflict and remains on the “side of peace”, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said.

The meeting between the two leaders took place days after PM Modi attended the BRICS Summit in Russia’s Kazan and in his address at the forum renewed his call for dialogue and diplomacy as being the only way forward to resolve conflicts, in an unambiguous message to press for the resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war through peaceful negotiations.

Mr Misri, during a media briefing, was asked how much the Russia-Ukraine conflict and West Asia conflict figured in the Modi-Scholz talks.

“Yes, I can confirm that both issues did come up, and they did come up in considerable details. Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) shared with the Chancellor his impressions of his meetings and interactions in the recent months, with the leaders of both Russia and Ukraine, and peace efforts that we are making in pursuing conversation on all sides,” he said.

“Some of the ideas that different actors have been talking about, and how India remains on the side of peace. We are not neutral in this conflict, we are on the side of peace. And, we stand ready to assist any initiative towards peace, benefiting or leveraging the ability that we have of being able to engage with all sides in this conflict,” the foreign secretary added.

India supports dialogue and diplomacy and not war, PM Modi had said at the BRICS Summit.

In July, PM Modi had visited Russia, marking his first visit since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In August he undertook a visit to Ukraine at the invitation of Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

In his meeting with Chancellor Scholz on Friday, PM Modi echoed his words spoken during his historic visit to Kyiv under the shadow of the prolonged conflict.

“We (India) are not neutral. From the very beginning, we have taken sides. And we have chosen the side of peace. We have come from the land of Buddha where there is no place for war,” PM Modi had said in his opening remarks during the talks.

“We have come from the land of Mahatma Gandhi who had given a message of peace to the entire world,” he had said.

Mr Misri said on the conflict in West Asia, “both sides expressed concern” over the developments there, expressed hope that “already serious conflict” which has caused a lot of damage and casualties and destruction, “doesn’t expand further and doesn’t bring more actors into its ambit, and that parties concerned can find path back through dialogue and diplomacy, an reach an agreement on the issues”.

PM Modi on Friday said the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia are a matter of concern and India is ready to make every possible contribution for restoration of peace.

His remarks came after talks with Chancellor Scholz, who called upon India to contribute to find a political solution to the conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for a long time.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said this is the right time to join India’s growth story, as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met the Prime Minister in the national capital with a business delegation.

Addressing the 18th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business 2024, PM Modi said the time is ripe for foreign investors to participate in India’s growth story, and join the ‘Make in India’ initiative and ‘Make for the World’.

“This is the right time to join India’s growth story as the country is becoming a global trade and manufacturing hub,” PM Modi said, adding that the country stands on strong pillars of democracy, demography, demand, and data.

Germany has expressed that India’s skilled manpower is amazing as the European nation has decided to increase visas for the skilled Indian workforce from 20,000 to 90,000.

Chancellor Scholz arrived in Delhi late on Thursday as part of his three-day official visit to India.

The German Chancellor said he wanted to deepen defence ties with India and bring the two countries’ militaries closer.

“Our overall message is clear, we need more co-operation, not less. At our inter-governmental consultations with India, we also want to deepen cooperation in defence and agree to bring our militaries together,” he said.

The German Chancellor will travel to Goa on Saturday, where the German naval frigate ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and combat support ship ‘Frankfurt am Main’ are making a scheduled port call as part of Germany’s Indo-Pacific deployment.

Earlier in the day, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal emphasised understanding and respecting mutual sensitivities to fast-track India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) talks.

Addressing the Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business, the minister stated that “extraneous” issues like labour and climate change should be discussed at international forums.

“A trade deal could be concluded swiftly if sensitivities were respected on both sides,” Goyal told the Asia-Pacific conference of German business in the Indian capital, attended by German Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the strategic partnership between India and Germany has emerged as a strong anchor at a time when the world is faced with tensions, conflicts and uncertainty.

Participating in the Seventh Inter-Governmental Consultations with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Prime Minister Modi said India-Germany ties were a transformational partnership of two capable and strong democracies and not a transactional relationship.

“The world is passing through times of tensions, conflicts and uncertainty. In the Indo-Pacific region, there are serious concerns about the rule of law and freedom of navigation. In times like this, the strategic partnership between India and Germany has emerged as a strong anchor,” PM Modi said.

The prime minister recalled that this was Chancellor Scholz’s third visit to India and marked the “triple celebration” of the friendship between India and Germany.

“In the last IGC in Berlin in 2022, we took important decisions for our bilateral cooperation. In two years, there has been encouraging progress in various sectors of our strategic relations. There has been increasing cooperation in areas such as defence, technology, energy, green and sustainable development that have become symbols of mutual trust,” PM Modi said.

The prime minister also welcomed the ‘Focus on India’ strategy announced by Germany.

“I am delighted that to expand and elevate our partnership, we are taking several new and important initiatives and moving from the ‘Whole of Government’ to the Whole of Nation approach,” PM Modi said.

The IGC framework was launched in 2011 and allows for a comprehensive review of cooperation and identification of new areas of engagement between the two countries across various sectors.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. File
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

India and Germany are close to finalising a memorandum of arrangement for logistics arrangement between the armed forces, according to a senior German official. With focus on expanding maritime security cooperation, Germany is set to post a liaison officer at the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for Indian Ocean Region in Gurugram.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in India on Thursday(October 24, 2024) night on an official visit accompanied by eight senior Ministers. He is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday(October 25, 2024) morning.

A memorandum of arrangement for logistics arrangement between the armed forces for cooperation and joint exercises in one of the two countries or the surrounding maritime domains is in the works, said Jasper Wieck, political director in the German Ministry of Defence. “With the likelihood that this arrangement will also facilitate co-development and co-production and joint research…,” he said.

Mr. Wieck was speaking at the India-German defence industry dialogue organised by the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers.

Pushing for co-development and co-production of defence equipment, he said they have specific areas in mind. Underwater technology, which brings in the Project-75I programme of the Indian Navy for six conventional submarines in which Germany’s TKMS is competing with Navantia of Spain, is one of them.

Other areas are cruise missiles, with MBDA as a potential partner, and drones. An agreement for peacekeeping training agreement between respective agencies in both countries is also on the anvil.

Last week, the German Government had adopted a focus document on India which says that Germany wants to be a reliable partner to India, Mr. Wieck said.

Officials said that Germany is keen on repair and maintenance of German ships in the region in India, on the lines of U.K. and U.S., which have been leveraging the logistics agreement for this purpose.

Stressing on the importance attached by Germany in deepening partnership with India, officials said that since the visit of German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in June 2023, a lot of export licences have been given. Over 95% of the licences have been cleared, the German envoy Philipp Ackermann said on Wednesday (October 23, 2024).

Mr. Modi and Mr. Scholz will address the 18th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business 2024 with about 800 CEOs of various companies attending. The two sides will hold talks as part of the 7th Inter-Governmental Consultations and a number of agreements are expected to be concluded.

Coinciding with the high-level visit, a German frigate Baden-Württemberg and a tanker Frankfurt Am Main undertook a maritime partnership exercise with Indian Navy’s destroyer INS Delhi in the Indian Ocean. The exercises conducted include cross deck flying operations, underway replenishment, weapon firing and tactical manoeuvres, the Indian Navy said. “The maiden maritime partnership exercise in the Bay of Bengal is aimed at further strengthening the maritime connect between the two nations and interoperability between the navies,” it stated.

As reported by The Hindu earlier, India has signed a series of logistics agreements with Quad countries, France, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam among others. These are administrative arrangements facilitating access to military facilities for exchange of fuel and provisions on mutual agreement simplifying logistical support and increasing operational turnaround of the military when operating away from India. All logistics agreements are reciprocal and non-binding.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. File
| Photo Credit: AP

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will be prepared to discuss the issue of three-year-old Ariha Shah, an Indian child taken into foster care by German authorities when he visits India this week, German Ambassador Philipp Ackermann said on Wednesday. He added that the government in Berlin “continues to work to find a satisfactory solution for the future of the child”.

Ahead of the German Chancellor’s visit, Ariha’s parents and members of the Jain community they belong to are urging the Ministry of External Affairs to push for a solution that would see the child return to India, or at least be raised according to their culture.

Ariha was removed from her parents’ custody by German authorities in 2021, over allegations that she had been physically abused and sustained grievous injuries while in their care. Although her father Bhavesh Shah, a Gujarati engineer working in Germany, and her mother Dhara Shah, a housewife, and Ariha herself are all Indian citizens, a German court decreed that she would live in foster care in Germany until she turns 18.

Language training

In response to a question from The Hindu during a briefing on Mr. Scholz’s visit, slated to take place from October 24 to 26, Mr. Ackermann said that, through close contact between the MEA, the German Embassy, and the Youth Authorities in Berlin, they had been able to procure an “in-principle” agreement that Ariha would receive training in an Indian language and some exposure to Indian culture as she grows up with a foster parent in a home outside of Berlin.

“What we have achieved in the last couple of months is: this language training in-principle is there, an exposure to [Indian] culture is there, and exposure to festivals is there,” Mr. Ackermann said, referring to Ariha’s participation in the Paryushan celebrations of the Jain community, and her interactions with a priest who flew from Mumbai to teach her some rituals. The Shahs are also allowed to meet their daughter once or twice a month, although their interactions are restricted and monitored by German authorities. 

Accompanied by at least eight senior Ministers, Mr. Scholz will arrive in Delhi late on Thursday night and will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning. Both leaders will address the 18th Asia-Pacific Conference of German Business 2024 (APK 2024), which will be attended by about 800 CEOs of various companies.

India and Germany will also hold talks as part of their bi-annual Inter-Governmental Consultations (IGC) followed by agreements on a number of issues. Topics include skilling and employment, strategic and military exchanges, and science and technology cooperation, including collaborations between the Indian Space Research Organisation and the German Space Agency.

Child welfare

When asked, Mr. Ackermann said that there is a “clear possibility” that India will also raise Ariha’s case during these talks, making it clear that the Germans are “prepared to answer any queries”.

In a letter to Thane MP Naresh Mhaske in August, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had said that the MEA had consistently followed up on Ariha’s case, and claimed credit for an intervention that ensured that the Jungendamt, Germany’s child welfare authority, decided not to appeal a Berlin court’s decision to grant visitations for the parents. He added that Ariha had been allowed to visit a temple twice, with Indian diplomats, and said that the Indian Embassy in Berlin was looking for an appropriate teacher for her to teach her Gujarati or Hindi.

“The matter has been raised with the German side at all levels, including personally by myself with my German counterpart where I emphasised that the long-term welfare of Ariha can only be ensured when she is brought up in her own socio-cultural environment in India,” wrote Mr. Jaishankar, who travelled to Berlin in September. Although the MEA made no statement on the Ariha matter during his visit, it was raised publicly during a visit to Delhi by German Foreign Minister Analena Baerbock last year.

With a portrait of party leader Sara Wagenknecht and the slogan ‘ War or Peace’ the new founded German party Alliance Sarah Wagenknecht campaigning for votes for the European Parliament on a campaign poster in Berlin, Germany on May 30, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

An unpopular government with a reputation for constant infighting. An economy stuck in a rut. A strong far-right party that has been embarrassed by its leading candidate and alienated its European allies. And a mainstream opposition still working on its recovery.

German politics are in a disgruntled, volatile state as the country’s voters prepare to fill 96 of the 720 seats at the European Parliament on June 9, the biggest single national contingent in the 27-nation European Union.

It’s the first nationwide vote since center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz took power in late 2021, ending the 16-year reign of center-right predecessor Angela Merkel. Her era was marked by often consensual politics and a string of “grand coalition” governments between the traditional major parties of right and left.

That cosiness, already tested during Ms. Merkel’s time by a series of crises and the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany(AfD), is well and truly over.

“This European election is taking place in the context of an economic crisis, but also a government crisis, because the government … really has very low popularity ratings,” said Johannes Hillje, a Berlin-based political consultant. Voters are likely to use the vote to signal their discontent, he added.

Mr. Scholz says that “confidence is … the best remedy against extremism” in turbulent times. But his government hasn’t generated much confidence.

The Social Democrat’s coalition with the environmentalist Greens and pro-business Free Democrats has achievements to its name. Those include preventing an energy crunch after Russia cut off its gas supplies to Germany, extensive aid for Ukraine — though details of that have caused friction — and a series of socially liberal reforms.

But the overwhelming impression of a government that set out to modernize Germany has been one of constant discord, as the economy, Europe’s biggest, struggles to generate growth.

The coalition infighting hasn’t taken a break for the election. The partners are arguing about how to put together a 2025 budget while adhering to Germany’s tight self-imposed rules on running up debt. That quandary already forced a hasty, court-mandated rehash of the 2024 budget, complete with subsidy cuts that prompted protests by farmers.

Opposition leader Friedrich Merz told parliament earlier this year that the government is “governing against the majority of voters and the population in Germany.” He lamented that the mood was “full of doubt and uncertainty.”

Mr. Merz has sought to give his party, once led by the centrist Ms. Merkel, a sharper conservative profile since he took over after its 2021 election defeat.

His Union bloc has benefited only partly from the unpopularity of Mr. Scholz and his coalition; while surveys have given it a clear lead, it’s struggling to get its support above an unspectacular 30% of the vote. There are questions over how much the 68-year-old Mr. Merz, a one-time rival of Ms. Merkel with no government experience, appeals to voters.

It’s not yet clear who will challenge Mr. Scholz in a national election expected in the fall of 2025. The Union plans to decide after three state elections in September in Germany’s former communist east.

The European Parliament vote and those state votes in three strongholds will test AfD, which fed on widespread discontent to garner support of more than 20% for a while.

A series of recent setbacks appears to have pushed it down somewhat. First came a media report in January that extremists met to discuss the deportation of millions of immigrants, including some with German citizenship, and that some figures from the party attended. The report triggered mass protests against the rise of the far-right.

Last month, an assistant to Maximilian Krah, AfD’s top candidate in the European election, was arrested on suspicion of spying for China. Its No. 2 candidate, Petr Bystron, faces an investigation after denying allegations he may have received money from a pro-Russia network. The party already faced criticism for having Russia-friendly positions.

AfD then banned Mr. Krah from making campaign appearances after he told an Italian newspaper that not all members of the Nazis’ elite SS unit were war criminals. That wasn’t enough to prevent the party being kicked out of the hard-right Identity and Democracy group in the European Parliament.

Separately, a court ruled that one of AfD’s best-known figures, Björn Höcke, knowingly used a Nazi slogan in a 2021 speech and fined him.

“Instead of being able to speak about its own position, it has to comment on scandals and allegations in the media every week,” Mr. Hillje said. AfD’s solid core of voters won’t be put off, but “those who aren’t entirely sure whether they should vote AfD could rethink as a result of these scandals and allegations.”

AfD still looks set to make gains from the 11% of the vote it took in the 2019 European Parliament election, though perhaps not as many as it hoped.

Some observers believe a new party founded by prominent opposition politician Sahra Wagenknecht, which combines left-wing economic policy with a restrictive approach to migration and other positions with potential appeal to some AfD voters, might dent its support.

Around 60.9 million German citizens are eligible to vote, along with 4.1 million residents from other EU countries who can decide whether to vote in Germany or their country of origin.